Bottle-capping machine



March 30, 1937.

J. F, MITCHELL BOTTLE ACAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1951 l2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 30, 1937. J, F Ml-rCHELL 2,075,296

` BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1951 l2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NYE T01? Mmm I Y, fw/m March 30, 1937.` J. F. MITCHELL 2,075,296

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1951 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 /NvENToH ma l Y I7 r `,q/ "41% 'i y Wax Ys March 30, 1 937. 1 F MlTCHELL 2,075,296

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1931 l2 Sheets-Sheet 4 Mm nr TTUR E Ys Wiz-ness March 30, 1937. J. F. MITCHELL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1951 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 /NvE/vron 7 2 /l ,QL 0

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March 30, 1937.

J. F. MITCHELL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1951 l2 Sheets-Sheet 6 March 30, 1937.

J. F. MITCHELL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1931 l2 Sheets-Sheet 7 /NvE/vron rofenars March '30, 1937- J. F. M|TCHE| BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1931 l2 Sheets-Sheet 8 March 30, 1937 J. F. MITCHELL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1931 l2 SheetS-Sheet 9 /NYE Tok .m om MU Filed Aug. 6, 1951 l2 Sheets-Sl'u-Ze'(l l0 www wl lll March 30, 1937. J E MWCHELL 2,075,296`

v BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE o /lyrE/vro March 30, 1937. '.J. F. M|TcHE| L BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6, 1931 12 Sheets-Sheet 12 Zwan/13E Y6' I zal s QU E N.

Patented .Man 30, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEY BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE Joseph Frank Mitchell, Parsippany, N. J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Smith Hood & Seal Corporation, Syracuse, N.,Y., a corporation of New York Application August 6, 1931, Serial No. 555,458

56 Claims. (Cl. 2262-83) structure of the apparatus and the form and relation of the parts thereof, will more fully appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in 10 body of the bottle is brought into operative alignment with the capping mechanism, it has `been found, owing to a lack of uniformity in the structure of these bottles, that it is` essential that the cap be brought into centralization with the mouth of the bottle and not merely with the bottle itself before being formed about the neck thereof to obtain a -uniform or positive securing of the folds of the skirt together by stapling or otherwise, and to presentl a neat, uniform appearance of the periphery of the skirt.

The invention has for its principal object to provide a novel mechanismfor automatically feeding a cap blank having a diameter greater l than the mouth of the bottles to be capped over said bottles and to center the cap with the mouth of the bottles.

Another object is to provide means for automatically folding or plaiting the cap blank into a skirted cap in such a manner that the skirt of the cap will extend downwardly around the neck of the bottle.

A further object is to provide means for positively and firmly folding the plaited skirt of the cap about the neck of the bottle and then stapling or otherwise securing the plaits of the skirt together to form a tight and impervious enclosure for the bottle and; at th'e same time, to provide a closure which may be readily removed and which, when being removed, will be destroyed to such an extent that the cap cannot be re-used without detection.

A further object is to provide a simple, durable and eiiicacious means for intermittently carrying the bottles from a conveyor into operative relation with the cap-forming mechanism, and after the caps'have been secured to the bottles, to again return the bottles to the conveyor in an upright orderly manner and without danger of breaking the bottles. 4

Al still further object is to provide a bottlecarrying means which is adapted to be quickly and easily shifted so as to feed the bottles from either direction into and out of capping relation with the cap-forming mechanism.

Other objects and advantages relating to the which Figure 1 is a top plan of a machine embodying the various features of this invention and which is shown in conjunction with a suitable bottle conveyor which is indicated by dotted lines.

v Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical detail section taken on line 2 2, Figurev 1, illustrating t he manner of supporting and operating my novel capforming and applying mechanism.

Figure 3 is a detail vertical section through the cam shaft, taken in the plane of Figure 1.

the line 3 3,

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken inthe plane of the line 4 4, Figure 3 with section moved to the inoperative or at sition.

the cam rest po- Figure 5 is a face view of the dri-ve clutch section taken in the plane of the line 5 5, Figure'S. Figure 6 is a detail vertical sectional View taken in the plane of the line 6 6, Figure 3.

Figure '7 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line 1 1, Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view through one side of the clutch member taken in the the line 8 8, Figure 7.

plane of Figure 9 is a vertical section taken 011l line 9 9,

Figure 10 is a detail vertical sectional view taken substantially in the plane kof the line |0-I0, Figure 21.

Figure 11 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on line I I Il, Figure 21, illustrating the bottle-lifting plunger and arm for actuating the Same.

bottle-actuated means for automatically ling the operation of the machine.

control- Figure 14 is a detail sectional view taken on line M M, Figure 13.

Figure 15 is a detail sectional view take i 5 l5, Figure 12.

Il 0n une Figure 16 is an enlarged detail vertical section taken substantially in the plane of the lin Figure 12.

Figure 17 is a detail horizontal sectio taken on line l I 1, Figure 16.

nal y view Figure 18 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken on line I 8-I8, Figure 13, illustrating the manner of pivotally mounting the bottleactuated trip arm.

5 Figures 19 and 20 are fragmentary horizontal sectional views taken respectively on lines I9-I9 and 20-20, Figure 18. e l

Figure 21 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line 2 I--2 I, Figure 2.

10 Figure 22 is a detail sectional view taken on line 22-22, Figure 1, showing a face view of the bottle-capping operating lever and the cross head connected therewith.

Figures 23 and 24 are detail4 sectional views l5 taken respectively on lines 23-23-and 24-24,

Figure 22.

Figure 25 is a vertical sectional view through the cap disk mechanism, taken on line 25-25, Figure 1.

20 Figure 26 is an enlargedvertical sectional view of?v the bottle-capping mechanism taken substantially inthe plane of the line 26-26, Figure 2, and illustrating the capping mechanism in the inoperative position ready to receive a bottle therein.

25 Figure 27 is a'detail horizontal sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 21-21, Figure 26.

Figures 28 and 29 are detail vertical sections taken respectively on lines 28-28 and 29-29,

30 Figure 27.

Figure 30 is a fragmentary plan view of the plait-forming plate taken on line 30-30, Figure 2.

Figure 31 is a vertical sectional view similar 35 to Figure 26, illustrating the capping mechanism in the operative position with the head of a bottle having a folded cap thereon in operative relation with the folding mechanism.

Figure 32 is an enlarged detail horizontal sec- 40 tion taken on line 32-32, Figure 31.

Figures 33 and 34 are detail horizontal sectional views through the cap-forming mechanism taken respectively on lines 33 33 and 34,-34, Figure 26. l 45 Figure 35 is a plan view of a cap blank.

Figure 36 is a plan view of the blank illustrated in Figure 35 showing the'blank in a partlyfolded condition.

Figure 37 is a perspective view of the cap 50 formed and secured upon the mouth of a bottle.

'I'he apparatus, as illustrated in the drawings, consists of a frame I, preferably composed of a bed plate 2 mounted upon vertically disposed legs 3. An electric motor 4 for driving the various 55 units of the mechanism is secured to the frame I at the rear of one..,of the legs 3 and has the armature shaft 5 thereof connected through the medium of a suitable coupling 6 to the driven shaft 'I of a speed reducing unit 8 which is secured to -60 the rear face of one of the legs 3 of the frame I with the drive shaft 9 thereof positioned coaxially with a cam shaft I0.

The drive shaft 9 is releasably connected with a cam shaft I by means of a clutch mechanism 65 II secured to adjacent ends of said shafts. Ihe clutch I I, in this instance, consists of an annular drive section I2 secured in any suitable manner to the upper'end of the drive shaft 9, and a companion annular driven section I3 secured to the 70 lower end of the cam shaft Ill, as more clearly illustrated in Figure 3.

The upper face of the drive section I2 of the clutch-II is provided with a slightly raised annular portion which is serrated to form ratchet 16 teeth I4 formed with the upper faces thereof acmzoe beveled for the purpose of driving the clutch section I3 in one direction only. 'Ihe driven section I3 is releasably connected with the drive section I2 by means of a latch member I5 which is slidably mounted in a vertically disposed slot I 6 provided in the periphery of the driven clutch section I3, see Figures 4, 5, '7, 8, and 9.

The clutch latch I is held in the slot against lateral displacement by means of a pair of guide plates I8 and I9, which are secured in any suitable manner in spaced relation to the periphery of the driven clutch section I3. The lower end of the latch I5 is beveled to conform to the contour of the face of the teeth I4 with which the latch is normally yieldingly held in engagement, by a coil spring 20 positioned in a vertically disposed hole formed in the upper end of the latch I5 with the upper end of the spring contacting witha spring-retaining plate 2l secured by screws or other means to the upper face of the clutch section I3.

The outer vertical edge of the latch I5 is provided with a transverse slot 22 which has the upper wall 23 thereof slightly beveled upwardly and forwardly with the rear lower edge of said beveled Wall registering, when inthe clutching position, with the lower wall 24 of an annular groove 25 formed in the periphery of the driven clutch section I3 intermediate the adjacent ends of the guide plates I8 and I9.

The groove 25 is of substantially the same depth as the slot 22 in the latch I5 and is adapted to receive therein one end of a' latch release lever 21 which is pivotally connected at 28 to the lower face of one of the cam shaft brackets as 29, see

Figure 21. One end 30 of the latch release lever the ange 30 is tapered forwardly and down- Wardly to form a knife edge at the forward end thereof for engaging the tapered wall 23 of the slot 22 for lifting the latch I5 against the action of the spring 20 and thereby automatically disconnect the clutch sections by bringing the latch out of engagement with the teeth I4 of the drive clutch section, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 9, and thereby permit the cam shaft I0 and the several units driven thereby to come to rest when the clutch release lever 21 is in the operative position, as illustrated by full lines in Figure 4.

The outer end of the latch release lever 2I extends a short distance outwardly beyond the pivot 28 and is pivotally connected by a pin 32 to one end of a horizontally disposed connecting rod 33 which extends forwardly in a plane below the bed plate 2 with the forward end thereof pivotally connected at 34 to the free end of a rock arm 35 which is secured to the lower end of a vertically 'disposed rock shaft 36 journaled in suitable bearings near the front of the machine, as will hereinafter be more fully explained.

Intermediate the pivot 28 and the outer end of the lev'er 21 is an integral forwardly extending arm 38 which has the forward end thereof curved at substantially right angles to the arm and towards the cam shaft I3 for rotatably supporting a studded miler 39 adapted to contact with the peripheral wall of the driven cam section I3 for limiting the outward movement of the latch engaging end 30 of the latch release lever 21.

The roller 39 is yieldingly maintained in contact with the clutch section I3 by a tension spring 40 connected atone end to the pin 32 and at the other end to a stud or bracket 4I secured to the adjacent rear portion of the frame I.

A cam segment 42 is secured to or made integral with the 'periphery of the clutch section I3 and positioned. at one side of the groove 25 in the plane of travel of the roller 39..

The forward end of the cam 42 is tapered in# wardly for engaging the roller 39 to rock the lever 21 about its pivot 28 against the action of the spring 40 for the purpose of restoring the end 30 to its normal operative position within the groove 25 during a portion of a revolution of the clutch section I3 after the arm 21 has been moved by the action of the spring 40 to the inoperative position, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 4, when released by the action of a bottle in the following manner:

The hereinbefore mentioned rock shaft 36 is journaled near its lower er1/d in a suitable bearing 44 secured to or made integral with the frame I near the forward end thereof, see Fig. 21.

The upper end of the shaft 36 is jo-urnaled, as shown more clearly in Figures 13 and 16, .in the bed plate 2 and extends above said bed plate a relatively short distance and has secured tothe upper end thereof a collar 45 which engages the upper surface of the bed plate for maintaining the shaft 36 in its normal operative position.

VSecured to the shaft v36 near the upper end thereof and positioned below the bed plate2is a rock arm 46 which is provided at its free .end with an upwardly extending projection 46 which extends through a suitable elongated slot 4,1provided, in this instance, in a cover plate 48 secured by screws 49 to the upper surface of the bed plate 2 to cover a suitable aperture 50 provided in the bed plate a relatively short distance from the front edge of said bed plate, as shown more particularly in VFigures 13 and 16.

The upper end of the projection 46 of the rock arm 46 extends some distance Valcove the bed plate 2 and is adapted to be engaged by a suitable pawl 5I which has the pivotal end thereof positioned in a curved slot 52 provided in the rear vertical wall of a curved pivot block 53 secured by screws 54 to the bed plate 2 adjacent the front wall of the aperture 50, as illustrated more clearly in Figures 13, 16, 18, 19, and 20.

The pawl- 5I is pivotally secured to the block 53 by means of a shouldered screw 54. The pivot block 53 is also provided with a pair ofthreaded holes 55 positioned near respective ends of said block at opposite sides of the pawl pivot 54 for receiving therein a screw 56 upon which is pivotally mounted at one end a trip arm 51. 'I'his trip arm 51 has the pivotal'end thereof curved as illustrated in Figure 19 and positioned in the slot 52. The arm, as illustrated, extends from the pivotal screw 56 positioned in one of the threaded holes 55 through the slot 52 and extends forwardly beyond the front vertical edge of the bed plate 2 and has adjustably secured near the outer end thereof a roller 58 adapted to be engaged by a bottle as it enters a respective bottle-receiving recess 59 formed in a suitable bottle carrier 6l) which will hereinafter be more fully described.

The roller 58, in this instance, is pivotally mounted upon .a shouldered screw 6I which is adjustably secured by a nut 62v in an elongated slot 63 provided in the outer or free end of the arm 51. Thetrip arm 51, in this instance, is composed of two-levers 51' and 51" comprising respective ends of the arm 51 and which have their adjacent ends positioned in overlapping relation and pivotally connected by a suitable shouldered screw 65.v The levers 51 and 51" are also adjustably secured together against relative rotary movement by means of a clamping screw 66 which is secured to one of the arms as 51' and extends upwardly throughan elongated slot/61 provided in the other lever 51 and made concentric with the pivot 65 so that the lever 51 may be adjustably secured at different angular relations to the companion lever 51" to bring the roller 58 into different relative positions with the recesses 59 of the carrier 60 so as to co-operate with bottles of dierent diameters in releasing the pawl 5I.

The pawl 5I is normally maintained in operative`relation with the rock arm 46 by means of a spring 68 which has one end thereof secured to the pawl and the other end engaging a suitable pin 69 secured to the rear vertical wall of the pivot block 53. The pawl 5I has secured thereto intermediate its ends, an upwardly extending pin 10 which, as shown more particularly in Figures l19 and 20, is positioned substantially midway between the holes 55 and extends upwardly through a suitable groove or notch 1I provided in the forward face. of the trip arm 51 near the pivotal end thereof so that any inwardly rocking movement of the trip arm 51 will rock the pawl 5I about the pivot 54 against the action of the spring 68 out of engagement with the rock arm 46.

The object of providing the two threaded holes l55 in the pivot block 53 for the trip arm pivot stud 56 is to permit the trip arm 51 to be positioned at either side of the axis of the bottle carrier 60 for permitting the feeding of the bottles from either side of -the bottle carrier to the bottle-capping mechanism. Iri other words, when the trip arm 51 and the bottle carrier 60 are arranged as i1- lustrated in the drawings, the bottle conveyor as A, Figure 1, may be caused to travel from right to left, as indicated by the arrow X which will cause the bottles to be brought into operative relation with the carrier 60 at the right hand side of said carrier, and as the trip arm'51 is positioned at that side of the carrier, said bottles will 'engage said arm and cause the pawl 5I to rock about its pivot 54 and release the rock arm 46 secured to the vertical rock shaft 36 and thereby permit the spring 4,0 to actuate the clutch release lever 21 to bring the engaging end 30 thereof out of operative engagement with the latch I5; that is the latch lever will be moved from the full line position to the dotted line position, as illustrated in Figure 4, which will permit the latch I5 in the clutch section I3 to engage the teeth I4 in the drive clutch section I2 forthe purpose of operatively connecting the cam shaft 'ber I3, and it is evident that as the cam shaft I0 and the clutch member vI3 continues the rotary movement, that the arm 21 will be restored -to its normal operative position, with the free end 38 thereof positioned in the groove 25 by the ca'm 42 engaging the roller 39 to move the arm 38 outwardly from the clutch member I3.

As the latch release arm 21 is moved to the normal operative position, it is evident that the rock arm 46 will also be returned to its normal position where it may be engaged and maintained by the pawl 5|, providing said pawl is permitted to be returned to its engaging position by the action of the spring 68 upon said pawl being-released by the trip arm 51 as the bottle is moved away from said trip arm by the carrier 68. If however, the trip arm 51 should be engaged by another bottle, it is evident that the pawl 5| will be maintained out of engagement with the rock arm 46 and, therefore, permit the latch' release lever 21 to be moved to its inoperative position by the action of the spring 48 as soon as the cam 42 has passed beyond the roller 39 which will permit the continued rotation of the cam shaft I8.

If, however, the trip arm 51 is released by the absence of a bottle in the recess 59 in the carrier 60, as soon as the latch release lever 21 has been rocked by the cam 42 into the normal operative position, said latch release lever will be maintained in said operative position by the pawl 5| engaging the rock arm 46, and as the shaft I8 continues rotating, the latch I5 will travel towards and be engaged by thecam face 38 of the latch release lever 21 and thereby be moved out of engagement with the. clutch teeth I4 which will dis-engage the clutch members and cause the cam shaft I8 to come to rest.

If, however, it is desirable that the conveyor A should travel in the opposite direction, that is, from left to right, the bottles may be fed to the capping mechanism from ,the left side of the carrier 68 by simply reversing the carrier end for end and the direction of rotation thereof, in a manner which will hereinafter be more fully explained, and the latch release lever 21 may be automatically operated by the bottles to permit the engaging of the'clutch by reversing the position of the trip arm 51. 'Ihis reversing of the trip arm 51 may be accomplished by changing the pivot yscrew 56 from the hole positioned at the left sideof the pivot block 53, as indicated In Figures 19 and 20, to the other hole 55 positioned at the right hand side of said block, and by extending the trip arm 51 outwardly from the left hand side or in the reverse direction shown in the drawings. This, however, will necessitate the turning of the trip arm 51 with the reverse side up whereupon the roller 58 may be positioned in the opposite side of said trip arm to that shown in the drawings in which position the trip arm'will be in the same relation to the recesses 59 of the-carrier 60 when said carrier is positioned with the reverse side 1 up as it is .with the carrier shown in the drawings for automatically causing the engagement of the clutch I| in the manner hereinbefore described.

My novel bottle carrier 68, as hereinbefore indicated, is adapted 'to receive the bottles from a suitable conveyor as A and successively move the bottles substantially into cooperative relation with `my novel cap-forming and applying mechanism, hereinafter more fully described, and after the caps have been secured to the bottles, to return said bottles to the conveyor A. This carrier 68, as shown more particularly in Figures 10, 12 and 16, consists of a hub 13 having flanges 14 provided at its opposite ends to which is secured by screws 15 a respective annular plate or `disk 16. These plates 16 have their peripheral edges provided with a plurality of, in this instance six, aligned substantially semi-circular recesses 59. These recessesare equally spaced in each of the plates 16 circumferentially and extend inwardly from the periphery of the respective plates tangentially to the axis of the carrier at the rear of said axis when' considered in relation to the direction of rotation of the carrier so that the rear wall of each recess 59 will form a slight pocket 59 for receiving and maintaining the bottles against radial displacement during the rotation of the carrier.

'I'he carrier 68 is removably secured to the upper end of a vertically disposed shaft 11 between an enlarged annular flange 18 made integral with or secured to said shaft a short distance from the upper end thereof and a thumb nut 19 screw-threaded on the upper end of the shaft 11. The carrier 68, in this instance, is secured to the shaft 11 to rotate therewith by means of a key 88 operably mounted in the shaft 11.

It will be noted by referring to Figure 17 that the h'ub 13 of the carrier is provided with tw'o grooves or keyways 8| in the wall of the opening therethrough. These keyways 8| are so positioned in relationV with respective aligned recesses59 in the plates 16 that the carrier may be used to feed the bottles in either direction to the bottle-capping mechanism; that is, when the conveyor A is traveling from right to left in the direction of the arrow X, Figure l, the carrier 68 will be positioned, as shown in the drawings, with one of the recesses 59 at the right hand side of the carrier in position to receive a bottle from the conveyor, and when the carrier is rotated in an anti-clockwise direction, will bring the bottle from the conveyor into registration with the bottle-capping mechanism. If, however, the conveyor A is to travel in the opposite direction from left to right, thebottles may be taken from the conveyor at the left hand side of the carrier 68 and brought into registration with the capping mechanism by this same carrier'by rotating the shaft 11 in a clockwise direction and by reversing the carrier end for end upon the shaft 11 and by having the key 88 engaging the previously idle keyway 8|, which will position the carrier 'in such a manner that a recess 59 will be adapted to receive the'bottles from the conveyor A at the left hand side of the carrier in the same manner in which the bottles are received when the conveyor is operated from right to left, as illustrated l in the drawings.

The carrier shaft 11 is rotatably mounted in suitable bearing members 83 and 84 mounted in respective ends of avertically disposed bore 85 formed in a dependent extension 86 made integral with the bed plate 2 between the forward edge of said bed plate and the pivot block 53,

see Figures 10, 13,'and 16. The upper positioned bearing as 83 extends, as illustrated, some distance above the upper face of the bed plate 2 for the purpose of maintaining the carrier 68 in spaced relation with the bed plate 2 so that the plates 16 will engage the body of the bottles intermediate the ends of the bottles so asto maintain the bottles in their normal upright position while effecting the intermittent movement thereof. y

The lower` positioned bearing member 84 is constructed as shown more-particularly in Figure 10, with an upwardly extending annular portio'n 81 adapted to be engaged in the opening 85 and which is secured thereto by any suitable means such as a set screw 88. The bearing member 84 is also provided with a second bearing portion 89 positioned below the member 81 in spaced relation thereto and adapted to rotatably support the shaft 11 therein. The portion 89 is connected with the portion 81 of the bearing member 84 by means of 'a suitable housing 90 adapted to receive a beveled gear as 9| therein, as illustrated by dotted lines in Figure 10. l The portion 89 of the bearingmember 84 is also provided with a downwardly extending skirt or housing 92 adapted to enclose the gear 9| when positioned upon the shaft 11 below the bearing member 89, as illustrated by full lines in Figure 10.

The carrier shaft 11 may be operated for intermittently rotating the carrier 60 to bring the bottles into successive operative relation with the capping mechanism by any suitable means.

The carrier, as illustrated in the drawings, is intermittently rotated the distance between two adjacent bottle-receiving recesses 59 by the cam shaft 8 at each revolution of the cam shaft in the following manner:

Two shafts 93 and 94, Figures '1 and 10, are disposed in parallel spaced relation in substantially the same horizontal plane longitudinally of the frame and belowthe bed plate 2. These shafts are journaled in respective bearing members 95 and 96 secured to or made integral with the frame and are positioned with their inner adjacent ends extending in slightly overlapping relation and are operably connected with each.

other by a suitable Geneva movement such as a star wheel 91 secured to the shaft 93 and an actuating arm 98 secured to the shaft 9,4, see Figure 6.

The forward end of the shaft 93 has secured thereto a beveled gear 99 adapted to have mesh- 40 ing engagement with the beveled gear 9| secured to the carrier shaft 11. i

The rear end of the shaft 94 is likewise connected with the cam shaft I0 by a pair of. beveled gears |00 and |0| secured respectively to the 45 shaft 94 and cam shaft I0, see Figures' 2 and 3. It will be noted by referring to Figure 6 that the star wheel 91 is provided, in this instance, with six radial slots |02 adapted to operably receive therein a roller |03 rotatably secured to 50 the arm 98 so that upon each revolution of the ca m shaft l0, and, therefore, the horizontal shaft 94, the star wheel 91 and shaft 93 will be rotated one-sixth of a revolution which will in turn impart a like movement to the carrier shaft 11 through the gears 9| and 99 and also to the carrier 60.

It will be evident by referring to Figure 10, that when it is desired to rotate the carrier 60 in the opposite direction for feeding'the bottles 'G0 from the left hand side ofV the carrier to the bottle-capping mechanism, that it is only necessary to position the gear member 9| at the opposite or upper side of the gear 99 in the housing 90, as.indicated by dotted lines, which will, of course, rotate the carrier 60 in the opposite or clockwise direction.

In order that the bottles may be directed into the respective recesses 59 of the bottle carrier 60 and be maintained therein during the inter- 70 mittent movements of the carrier, I have pro'- vided a pair of bottle guide members |05 and |06 which are secured to the bed plate 2 in operative relation with the periphery of the carrier 60, see Figures 1 and 12.

v75 The.' guide member 05 is secured by screws |01y or other suitable means, to the bed plate 2.and extends forwardly from the bed plate so as to be positioned over the bottle conveyor A and is provided at either side with outwardly extending arms |05' and |05 adapted to extend in opposite directions from the center of the guide over the conveyor A. 'I'he forward or receiving end as |05' of the guide is tapered from the outer end thereof inwardly towards the axis of the carrier 60 for guiding the bottles as they are carried forward by the conveyor into a registering recess 59 in the carrier 60, as shown.

The opposite or exhaust side |05 of the guide member |05 is'formed', as showninore particularly in Figure 12, adapted to receive the bottles from the registering recess 59 as they are discharged from the carrier 60 and guide said bottles along the' conveyor A for a relatively short distance for maintaining the bottles in an upright position on said conveyor. The other guide member |06 is secured to the bed plate 2 by screws |08 in slightly spaced relation with the inner peripheral portion of the carrier 60 and has the receiving end |06 and the exhaust end as |06" of v.said bracket positioned in co-operative spaced relation with the respective receiving and exhaust ends |05 and |05" of the guide member |05 for guiding bottles therebetween.

It will be observed by referring to Figure 12, that the exhaust end |06" of the bracket 06 is so positioned relative to the carrier 60 that the bottles will be maintained in respective recesses 59 as they approach the conveyor A, until after the carrier has passed its center of movement and, therefore, the period of greatest speed so that the bottles will not be permitted to leave said recesses until near the end of the rotary movement of the carrier when said carrier is operat-v ing at reduced speed as it approaches the at rest position and thus cause the, bottles to be. discharged from the carrier onto the conveyor A in a relatively, slow, easy manner so as to prevent breakage of the bottles and to maintain said bottles in the upright position as they`are deposited on the conveyor.

Secured to the inner vertical wall of the bracket |06 is a plurality of, inthis instance three, spring members |09. 'These spring members |09 are so positioned in circumferential spaced relation about the bracket |06 that when the carrier 60 is being rotated at its greatest rate of speed, that is, midway of the intermittent movement thereof, the spring members |09 will be in registration with the respective recesses 59 and engage the bottles contained in said recesses for maintaining the bottles therein at the time they are being influenced by the greatest centrifugal force.

The bottle carrier 60, as hereinbefore described,

is adapted to operate with obverse and reverse sides positioned uppermost for carrying bottles in either direction from the conveyor A intc capping relationwith a cap-forming and applying mechanism, but it is evident that the guide members |05 and |06 are only adapted to co-operate with the carrier 60 inL guiding the bottles in one direction only, and if the bottles are to be moved in the opposite direction, it is necessary to replace the guide members |05 and |06 with similar guide members which are adapted to co-operate with the carrier` 60 for guiding the bottles in the reverse direction.

Bottle-actuating plunger` As the carrier shaft 11 is operably connected with the source of power Aas the motor 4 by the engagement of the clutch H in the manner previously described, the carrier 60 will be rotated, in this instance, one-sixth of a revolution or the distance between two adjacent bottle-receiving recesses 59 and when the carrier is rotated in an anti-clockwise direction, as illustrated in the drawings, the bottle will be moved, during a single intermittent movement of the carrier, from the conveyor A over the upper surface of the bed plate 2 and will come to rest upon the upper end of a vertically disposed reciprocating plunger H0 which is slidably mounted in a pendent vertically extending hollow boss or `bearing member IH made integral with the bed plate 2, see Figures 2 11, 12, and 21.

The plunger H0, in this instance, is circular in cross section and has an easy sliding fit in the 'opening of the supporting member IH thereby forming a relatively close connection between the v plunger and the bed plate 2 which prevents liquid such as wash Water, spilt milk, or the like, from lpassing downwardly through the plunger opening and corroding or polluting the mechanism below the Abed plate 2.

'I'he plunger I0 is moved vertically to carry the bottles to and from their cap-receiving position by a rearwardly extending substantially horizontally disposed rock arm H2 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends upon a shouldered stud H3 secured to the frame I near the rear portion thereof. 'Ihe rear end of the arm H2 is provided with a roller stud H4 which engages a cam groove H5 in a cam member H6 which is secured in any suitable manner to the cam shaft 3 l0 to rotate therewith. l

'Ihe forward end of the arm H2 extends through a vertically disposed slot IH' provided in the rear wall of the supporting member I I and 4terminates in a vertical recess or slot H1 which extends diametrically through the plunger H0 near the lower end thereof.

The forward end of the arm H2 is of less vertical height than the slot ,l |1 in the plunger H0 and is positioned between an adjusting screw I I8 screw-threaded in the lower end of the plunger H0 and a spring-actuated pin H3 mounted in a suitable opening in the upper end of the plunger.

'Ihe spring as |20 for actuating the pin H9 is 50 of sulcient tension to maintain the arm in constant contact with the screw H8 under normal load and, at the same time, provides a yielding connection between the arm and plunger H0 so that the bottle may be brought to the capping position without danger of damaging the bottle or the capping mechanism. The upper end of the plunger I I0 may be positioned and maintained' flush with the upper surface of the bed plate 2 when the plunger is in its lowermost position,A by the manipulation of the screw H8 which may be locked in the adjusted position in any suitable manner as by a lock nut |2|. The positioning of the plunger I I 0 flush with the upper surface of the bed plate 2 is for the purpose of permitting the bottles to be smoothly positioned upon the plunger I I 0 as it is moved by the carrier 80 from the upper surface of the bed plate 2,

Bottle-capping mechanism The hereinbefore-mentioned bottle-capping mechanism, in lthis instance, consists primarily of a cap blank feeding apparatus adapted to automatically feed one cap-forming blank at a time 75 over the mouth of a bottle resting upon the plunger H0, a cap-forming mechanism adapted to form the disk into a skirtedcap over the mouth of the bottle and at the same time to plait the skirt of the cap, a mechanism for closely and securely folding the plaits about the neck of the bottle and a suitable means for securing the skirted cap in position on said bottle such as a stapling mechanism, all of which are mounted in co-operative relation with each other and with the bottle plunger H0 upon a vertically disposed supporting post |23, see Figure 2.

The post |23 may be adjustably mounted for vertical longitudinal movement in the bore of a pendent supporting member |24 secured to or made integral with the bed plate 2 for the purpose 'of varying the relative position of the capping mechanism and the bottle-supporting plunger H0 for permitting the capping of bottles of different heights. The supporting post |23 is positioned at the rear and to one side of the. axis of the bottle carrier 60 and is splined to the supporting member |24 by a key |25 secured to the post to move therewith and registering in a longitudinally disposed keyway provided in the bore of the projection |24 so as to prevent rotation of the shaft during the adjustment thereof and for maintaining the capping mechanism in co-axial relation with the plunger I I0. 'I'he post |23 may be adjustably maintained in a pre-determined fixed position by any suitable means as a lifting collar |21 mounted upon the reduced lower end of the post |23.

The collar 21 is formed, as shown in Figure '7, I

with a lateral projection as |21v having a verti-J cally disposed threaded opening therethrough in which is screw-threaded an adjusting screw |28.

This screw |28 may be rotatably supported against axial movement inany suitable manner ln the frame I and may be manipulated in any suitable i manner as by ahand wheel |29 secured to the screw. The post |23 may thus be elevated or lowered at will by the proper manipulation of the hand wheel |29 and then secured in the adjusted position against axial movement by means of a pair of clamping sleeves |30 and |3| slidably mounted in a suitable bore provided in a horil The supporting post |23 extends some distance I above the bed plate 2, and as shownmore par-r ticularly in -Figure 2, is provided with a reduced portion |23' intermediate the upper end thereof and the bed plate 2 for supporting the cap blank feed plate as |35 while the upper end |23"of thel post |23 is still further reduced in diameter for supporting a capping head member |36 and a lever-supporting ring |31, both of which are fixedly secured to the post to prevent relativer rotary movement thereof by means of a key |38 which is positioned in registering slots provided in the end |23" of the post |23 and in respective apertured hubs |36 and |31 made integral with the capping head |36 and ring |31 and positioned at one side thereof.

The lever-supporting ring |31 is mounted over the capping head |36 and is maintained in fixed The caps as C, Figure 37, are preferably made from a disk as D, Figure 35, which is hexagonal in plan view and has the corners as d thereof rounded so that when the cap is applied to the bottle as B, the lower or peripheral edge of the skirt of the cap will present a neat, regular appearance about the neck of the bottle, and at the same time, provide for the maximum, even, close and firm fitting of the skirt about the neck of the bottle and thereby prevent the bottle being contaminated by dust or dirt passingupwardly between the skirt of the cap and the bottle.

These disks or cap blanks D are stacked one upon the other in a suitable magazine I4 Figures 1 and 25', and supported in any suitable manner at one side of the capping head |36 as by a bracket |42 secured to or made integral with the head |36, said bracket being split radially at one side thereof and having the split sections secured together in clamping engagement with the magazine |4| intermediate the ends of said magazine by a clamping screw |43.

' The magazine |4| is a'tubular member, open at both ends, and having the opening therethrough formed substantially hexagonal in cross section for maintaining the disks D in predetermined fixed relation so that when said disks are brought over the mouth of the bottles, the at sides of the disk will be in operative relation with the skirtforming and folding mechanism, hereinafter more fully described.

The magazine |4| is maintained in fixed relation over the disk feeding plate |39 with the lower end thereof maintained in juxtaposition to the upper surface of said plate so as to feed the cap blanks one at a time into a relatively shallow diskreceiving recess |45 provided in vthe forward end of the disk feeding plate |35 when said recess is in registration with the magazine |4| which will be effected when the plate |35 is in its rearmost position. The feed plate |35, as shown more particularly in Figures 2 and 12, in this instance, is substantially flat in cross section with a width slightly greater than the diameter of the magazine |4| and is formed concentric with the cap mechanism supporting post |23.

The plate |35 is provided with a radial arm |46 which extends from the inner edge thereof and terminates in a vertically disposed tubular 'hub |41 which is rotatably mounted on the intermittent reduced portion I23' of the supporting post |23 between the capping head |36 and a thrust washer |48 which is maintained in operative position on the post 23 by means of a nut |49 screwthreaded on the upper end of the major portion of` plate to be moved axially with the post |23 in' fixed relation with the head |36 during the axial adjustment of the post |23 to bring the feed plate in a horizontal plane just above the head of the bottle B when the bottle-supporting plunger lll) is in its extreme down position to permit the positioning of cap blanks over the mouth of bottles of diiferent heights.

The feed plate |35 is oscillated horizontally about the post |23 to bring the disk-receiving recess |45 from registration with the Amagazine |4| into alignment with the bottle to be capped, and a cap-forming and applying mechanism, presently described, and vice-versa, by a cam member |5| keyed or otherwise secured to the upper end of the cam shaft I to rotate therewith,

see Figures 1 and 3. The cam |5| is operatively connected to the feed plate by means of a horizontally disposed rock arm |52 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends upon a vertically disposed shouldered stud |53 which, in this instance, extends downwardly through an upwardly extending lug |54 made integral with the upper positioned cam shaft bearing |55 and has the lower end thereof screw-threaded in the adjacent portion of the bed plate 2.

The rear end'of the rock arm |52 is provided with an upwardly extending roller stud |56 adapted to travel in a cam groove |51 formed in the lower face of the cam member The other or forward end of the rock arm |52 is provided with a gear segment |58 having meshing engagement with longitudinally disposed teeth |59 formed on the periphery of the hub |41 so that any rocking movement of the arm |52 produced by the cam |5|, will impart a corresponding oscillating movement 'of the feed plate |35 through the medium of the gear segment |58 and teeth |59.

Itis evident, by referring to Figure 2, that the plate may be moved axially by the post |23 within the limits desired due to the length of the teeth |59 upon the hub |41 which are so constructed that the gear segment |58 will always be in mesh with the gear teeth |59 without the necessity of varying the vertical position of thewhen the plate is in its foremost position with the recess in co-axial relation with the cap-forming and applying mechanism.

The disk-receiving recess |45 has, as shown more particularly in Figures 12 and 27, the peripheral wall thereof provided with a plurality of, in this instance three, flattened surfaces |45 arranged at the rear side of the opening and formed by securing a like number of bars |60 in any suitable manner in corresponding grooves formed in the plate |45 adjacent said recess and arranged at sixty degrees to each other and adapted, when the feed plate |35 is in its rearmost position, to be in operative relation with corresponding flattened sides of the magazine |4| for mai-ntaining the disk'blanks in their proper relation with the cap-forming mechanism during the feeding of said blanks from the magazine into position over the mouth of the bottles.

The bottom of the disk-receiving recess |45 `may, as shown in Figures 12, 15, and 27, be provided with a plurality of relatively small openings |6| spaced circumferentially about said bottom and connected with a common chamber |62 formed in the feed plate |35 below the recess |45 and which may be connected in any suitable manner as by a flexible hose |63 with a vacuum pump, not shown, for producing a partial vacuum-beneath the cap blanks when positioned in therecess |45 for maintaining said blanks against displacement during the carrying of the blanks from the magazine to a position over the mouth of the bottles to be capped, said hose being connected at one end by a port |64 4and tube |65 with the chamber |62.

The forward end of the disk-feeding plate |35 is also provided with an inwardly extending substantially semi-circular opening |66, with the inner or rear portion thereof formed concentric with the disk-receiving recess |45 and of greater diameter than that of the bottles to be capped so that when the plate |35 is in its forward position, the opening |66 will be in co-axial relation with the bottle-lifting plunger to permit the free movement of the bottles therethrough during the vertical movements of said plunger.

When the disk feed plate |35 is in its extreme forward position with the opening |66 and the disk-receiving recess |45 in co-axial relation with the bottle-actuating plunger ||0, it is necessary that the mouth of the bottle resting upon the plunger be brought into concentric relation with the cap blank positioned in the recess, and for this purpose, there is secured to the undersurface of nthe plate |35 adjacent the, opening |66 a pair of positioning blocks |61 which are secured in fixed relation to the feed plate by bolts or screws |68 passing through suitable apertures in a tie bar as |69 made integral at its ends with the positioning block |61 and which are screw-threaded into the plate |35.

The positioning blocksV |61 are arranged equal distances either side of the circumferential center line of the plate 35 and the disk-receiving recess |45 and, therefore, of the bottle-receiving opening |66. Each of the blocks |61 extends within the opening |66 a. relatively short distance and have the inner vertical Afaces thereof positioned so as`to be tangential to the periphery of the rim b of the mouth of the bottle B, Figure feed plate |35 by the action of the plunger ||0,l

it is necessarythat the rim b of the mouth of the bottle is brought into contact with the inner vertical end surfaces of the xed positioning blocks |61, and for this purpose, the lower edges of these surfaces as |61 are beveled, as illustrated in Figure 26, and there is also provided a second pair of positioning blocks arranged in diametrically opposed relation with the xed blocks |61 for cooperating therewith. 'I'hese .movable positioning blocks |10 are constructed similarly to said fixed blocks except that they are reciprocally mounted in a suitable bracket |1| secured by screws |12 to the underside of a plait-forming plate or die |1 3 which, in turn, is secured by any suitable means as by screws |14, Figure 2, to the undersurface of the capping head |36, as illustrated more clearly in Figures 2 and 26 and which will hereinafter be more fully described.

'I'hel bracket |1|, as illustrated more clearly in lFigures 26, 27, 28, and 29, is a substantially rectangular block arranged to be adjacent the mouth of the opening |66 in the feed plate 35 when said feed plate is in its forward position. The bracket |1| is provided with a horizontally disposed slot or guideway extending longitudinally therethrough for receiving a lateral supporting arm or plate |16 connected at one end to the tie bar as |11 for the movable positioning blocks |10.

Plvotally mounted upon a shouldered stud |18 secured to a lateral arm |19 formed integral with one side of the bracket |1|, is a rock arm |80 which has one end extending through a suitable slot |8| provided in the side of the bracket |1| adjacent the arm |19 and over the block-supporting plate |16. The rock arm |80 has a pin and slot connection with said plate so that any rocking movement of the arm will impart a corresponding sliding movement of the plate. The other end of the arm |80 extends a relatively short distance beyond the pivot |18 and is provided with a spring-pressed plunger |82 adapted to be engaged by the inner end portion of the forward end of the feed plate |35 as said plate approaches the limit of its forward movement for yieldingly rocking the arm v |80 about the pivot 18. y

The plate |16 and; therefore, the positioning blocks |10. are yieldingly maintained in their normal outermost position by means of a spring |83 of less tension than the spring for the plunger |82 and which is coiled about a suitable screw cr stud |84 secured to the arm |19 of the bracket |1| and having one end thereof positioned against the side of the bracket and the other end engaging the outer end of the rock arm |00 for urging the outer end of the arm toward the feed plate |35 and thereby normaly maintaining the positioning blocks |10 a distance from the fixed positioning blocks |61 which is greater than the diameter of the body of the bottles to be capped so as to permit the free vertical movements of the bottles into and out of capping relation with the cap-forming and applying mechanism.

In operation, it will be clearly understood, by referring more particularly to Figure 27, that when the feed plate |35 is in its outer position with the recess |45 in registration with the magazine |4|, the movable positioning blocks |10 wi'l be maintained in their normal outermost position by the action of the spring |83, and as the feed plate |35 approaches its innermost position over the bottle-actuating plunger ||0, the pin |82 will be engaged by the end portion |35' of the plate which will rock the-arm |80 about the pivot |18 and against the action of the spring |83 to bring the movable positioning blocks |10 towards the approaching xed positioning blocks |61, and the construction of the arm |80 and plunger |82 is such that the movable positioning blocks |10 will be positioned, when the feed plate |35 comes ,to rest, at a less distance from the fixed blocks |61 than the diameter of the rim b of the mouth of the bottle B to be capped, as indicated by full lines, Figure 27. v

As the bottle B is then being moved upwardly by the action of the plunger ||0, the rim of the mouth of the bottle will engage theunder beveled portions of the respective positioning blocks |61 and |10 and cause the movable blocks |10 to be moved outwardly against the action of the spring as |85 for the pin |82 until the movable blocks |10 are moved a sufficient distance from the fixed 

